User:Anna Henga

Anna Henga is a Tanzanian renowned human rights activist who has no any other working background that is not related to human rights work. She is a lawyer, advocate of the High Court of Tanzania and the Executive Director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre.

Early life and Education
Anna Henga was born in Dodoma Tanzania. She went to Kipawa Primary School in Dar es Salaam for her primary education. She obtained her secondary school education from Marangu Secondary School in Kilimanjaro and later went to Korogwe Girls High School in Tanga. She is a happy wife and mother of one.

Anna holds a Master’s Degree in Development Policy and Practice for Civil Society from Mzumbe University, Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Institute of Finance Management (IFM), Bachelor of Laws from University of Dar es Salaam and Diploma in Gender from Sweden Institute of Public Administration.

Professional Career
Anna Henga is a learned lawyer, advocate of the High Court of Tanzania and the Executive Director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre. She is an enthusiast human rights activist who has no any other working background that is not related to human rights work.

Background in Human Rights Work
Anna Henga is a passionate human rights activists who started engaging herself in human rights cause back in 2005 when she joined the University of Dar es Salaam Students Human Rights Association. In February, 2006 Anna joined LHRC as an intern, since then she has been successfully serving in various roles counting Programme Coordinator - Constitutional Reforms, Coordinator of the Southern African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN) as well as Program’s Officer - Gender, Children and Anti FGM Coordinator. Following her passion and outstanding service in promotion and protection of human rights in Tanzania, Anna was appointed on July 1, 2018 to succeed the iconic human rights activist Dr. Helen Kijo-Bisimba. Before she was appointed to head the leading human rights advocacy organisation in Tanzania, Anna Henga had successfully served various leadership roles at LHRC including the Director of Advocacy and Reforms leading the Centre’s core cause which is to advocate for legal and policy reforms as well as change of practices. In the cause Anna has been designing and leading programs focusing on access to justice particularly provision of legal aid to marginalized as well as conducting public interest case and strategic litigation. Exceptionally, Anna successfully designed and supervise big national campaigns on Constitutional Review Process in Tanzania (Big Bang Constitutional Campaign, 2014), the campaign with which its impact is noticeable to date.

Women and children rights
From April 2009 to February 2011, Anna Henga worked as a Program Officer Gender and Children coordinating the LHRC’s interventions on rights of women and children in Tanzania. Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, 2003 (MAPUTO Protocol) popularisation of the protocol to the justice actors (magistrates and judges), duty bearers and community at large. This raised both community and duty bearers understanding of rights of women and girl child and later during the Constitutional Review Process in 2011, rights of women were voted to be included in the New Proposed Constitution. Anna took the initiative to localize the protocol in Swahili language for the content of the protocol to be friendly available to the majority Tanzanians. As a coordinator of the Tanzania’s Anti-FGM Coalition (TAFGM) Anna success approached the Muslims community to join the coalition through Muslim Council of Tanzania; this resulted from the existed myth that Muslims supports FGM.

She also contributed to promotion of women’s participation in democratic processes through empowerment on political rights. In 2010, she trained women political aspirants in different regions of Tanzania under the UN Women (by then UNIFEM).

Building capacity of communities on laws and human rights
From 2007 to 2009 Anna played an active role in reviewing paralegals training manuals including Paralegal’s Training Manual on Land Laws as well as playing a role of facilitator to empower the local communities through paralegals as she participated in paralegals trainings on human rights and legal framework. Later in 2017 the United Republic of Tanzania enacted the legislation to recognise the operations of community advocates (paralegals) the Paralegals Act of which Anna championed as the Director of Advocacy and Reforms at the Legal and Human Rights Centre.

Land and economic rights
Anna participated in empowerment of women on land rights particular on implementation of the then newly enacted laws especially on composition of women in land dispute settlement organs i.e. ward tribunal and village land council. Reviewing the Paralegals Training Manual on Land Laws as well as playing an active role of empowerment of paralegals complimented to the realization of women’s right to property ownership especially in areas with paralegals.